August Playlist – Take Two

Aug 312011
 
 Posted by on August 31, 2011 at 10:00 am in Life, Travel 2 Responses »

Meep meeeeeep – happy hump day! So remember how I promised to do two playlists in August because the monthly playlist got skipped in July?

Yeah, that didn’t happen.

Just like my TurboFire workouts this week didn’t happen. Still struggling with the decision of sleep versus exercise… is there a correct solution in that debate?

Free time in my life right now… does not exist. Work and travel own my soul. And I’m still working on dealing with it. Sheesh… I probably shouldn’t write posts when I’m this bummed about my lack of progress on personal goals, but I still wanted to share some good music with y’all to make up for the past couple months. (YEAH I threw a y’all in there – I’m in Memphis!)

SO.. here is a list of some of my favorite spots for new music. Take a peek and recommend some new favorites for me since I’ve had no time to browse lately :)

Lululemon Blog
This is my favorite part of lululemon’s site actually. They update frequently with new playlists, inspiring goal-setting ideas and . Try searching for “music” “playlist” or “running music” for some great lists.

The Fitnessista
Uhhh if you haven’t figured it out yet, Gina aka the Fitnessista is pretty much my idol. I want to be her when I grow up ;) She sprinkles lots of her posts with “something to listen”, and some of my favorite playlists of hers are here and here. *Bonus* – the playlists often come with built-in workouts. Are you starting to understand my obsession with her blog?!

Run Hundred
I actually subscribe to the weekly email from this website, which provides club/dance music, top 40 hits and college radio-type music with beats-per-minute listed for your playlist making pleasure. Not everything is up my alley, but I usually get quite a few of my workout jams from here.

My other music secrets? I write down snippets of lyrics from songs I hear in restaurants, movies, hotel lobbies, the radio.. anywhere! in a memo on my phone, then Google the lyrics and download the songs later :) I often Google soundtracks to movies, too (recently Googled: the Morning Glory soundtrack) – then pick through them on iTunes or via YouTube and pick out my faves. What are your favorite sources for new workout music?

Just an update on the week, too, so you all don’t think I’m about to jump out of my hotel window – I’ve had a great time with my coworkers outside of work this week. Last night I had one of the best shrimp nicoise salads I’ve ever had at dinner, and we spent tonight enjoying the sights and smells of Beale Street. There just isn’t enough time in the day for everything I want to do lately… (and tomorrow is a 15 hour day of work-and-travel. Yikes.) At least I have a *four day weekend* to look forward to after tomorrow. WHOOOOO!!!

How do you deal when there just isn’t enough time in the day?!

Resting, Recharging and Vanilla Cherry Swirl

Aug 292011
 
 Posted by on August 29, 2011 at 7:57 pm in Food, Sweat 2 Responses »

Happy Monday :) I actually started writing this post yesterday… and then I fell asleep for 2 hours for an impromptu nap instead of working out and blogging. It was that kind of week last week…

I was already low-energy last week on Wednesday, and the rest of the week on the road followed suit. If you check out the workout tracker (which has gotten really out of control and confusing, haha.. I kind of hate Google Docs) you will see that it was my worst week in over a month in terms of workouts :( #1 issue – I haven’t been following my own rule of getting enough sleep on the road. We leave the hotel at 6:30 to get to the client at a reasonable time, and often dine as a team and don’t get back to the hotel until after 9pm. To get enough sleep *and* fit a workout into that schedule has been a serious challenge (let alone finishing up work stuff, blogging and chatting with people that probably wonder lately if I’m alive on the phone). I’m trying to give myself credit where I can – I still worked out 3 days last week, so it could be worse!! I’m re-starting week 4 this week (day 2 Fire 45 still tonight.. getting myself mentally psyched as I type ;) ) so I’m trying to stay focused, be efficient with my time and not be too hard on myself when the schedule-as-written gets moved around due to work.

Tuesday to Friday travel makes the week seem longer to me… when I finally got home around 7ish on Friday, B and I ordered pizza and were completely lazy all night. It was awesome. My poor guy had food poisoning last week, so he was feeling pretty wiped, too. I don’t think the couch has ever felt so good to either of us.

On Saturday, I tried to get a little bit back on the fitness track while I walked around Lake Calhoun with one of my best friends who lives in NYC now. She was in town visiting family, and it was a perfect day to spend time outside so the lake was an easy meet up pick.
Source: By roger 4336 on Flickr.

One of the best feelings is being with a friend who you haven’t seen in ages and you can pick up right where you left off. We had a blast chatting and catching up. My only regret is that I still didn’t have the energy to make it out to get drinks that night, so our time together was cut to just our walk around the lake. More reason for me to visit New York ASAP!

B and I did have the get-up-and-go to grab groceries on Saturday (like true chubby kids, we can always get off the couch for food. Hehe). We had delish sammiches – tempeh bacon lettuce tomato and avocado for me and turkey and bacon club for Mr. B. With sweet potato waffles fries, for the win.

I’ve never had tempeh before, and I need to make a few adjustments next time – thinner slices and MORE MARINADE!

I really liked the texture though, and B even said he would eat it, so I’m excited to try it again sometime soon.

Yesterday, we got out and enjoyed the Minnesota State Fair – one of the nation’s largest :) I believe the stat – it was seriously packed!! We saw all the best of what the fair has to offer…

B ate 3 corn dogs:

Yes. 3. The weekend after he had food poisoning.

And I had roasted sweet corn (my love!… you can see in this picture that I was still exhausted-looking on Saturday. Blah.)

And cherry vanilla swirl in a waffle cone :)

The fair was the perfect ending to a lazy weekend of much-needed rest, and today kicked off another tired-feeling week. I tried to start it off right with Overnight Oats in a Jar:

In this batch – raw Trader Joe’s almond butter, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 banana, heap of chia seeds, ~3/4 cup almond milk, lots o’ cinnamon.

Semi-struggled through my early flight, self-medicated with a latte and took on the workday… but was rewarded with a heap of Whole Foods gold before heading back to the hotel:

Dinner was a delish salad bar creation of quinoa, beans and superfood salad (kale, blueberries, nuts, goji berries, etc.)… that the hotel internet will not allow me to upload, wah. I’m hoping that SUPERFOOD JUICE I picked up will do the trick for the rest of the week… that and a good night’s rest tonight. On that note – I’m out. How is your week starting out?

How to Eat Healthy and Stay Fit Out of a Hotel

Aug 242011
 
 Posted by on August 24, 2011 at 10:49 pm in Food, Sweat, Travel 4 Responses »

Herrowwww! How’s everyone doing? I’m a little low energy… yesterday was kinda a brutal traveling day, it is H-O-T in Memphis, didn’t fit in a workout today (wah) and ended a busy day with a team dinner. Whew!

I had a great post planned for the weekday post this week…. aaaaaand then I forgot my camera. I’ve saved the idea away for another week ;) Instead, here is a cheater post on how to be healthy when you’re staying in a hotel or traveling for work. It’s a cheater post because that’s pretty much what the blog is about these days ;) Here’s a collection of my best tips –

1) Eat from the grocery store when you can. If you stick with your normal food choices, you’re almost guaranteed to be healthier than anything you can get from take-out, a restaurant or room service. Best options for mini-meals, quick breakfasts and snacks:

{wow – apologies for this trifecta of depressing. Junky BlackBerry pic, poor lighting and a hotel desk, yowza.}

- Greek/plain non-fat yogurt w/ pre-cut and pre-packaged fruit
- LARA bars or other all-natural granola/meal bars (DELISH crumbled into a small, lower-calorie yogurt for a yummy breakfast!)
- Nuts from the bulk bins with fresh fruit or pre-cut veggies
- Funky snacks you might not eat otherwise like rice chips (I am OBSESSED with these Riceworks Parmesan & Sundried Tomato chips). In moderation of course…. ;)
- String cheese! Although this melts in my bag in Memphis if I don’t eat it pretty soon after leaving the hotel, heh.
- THE SALAD BAR. Check out the box of munch-amazingness I got at Whole Foods last night:

Grilled chicken, quinoa/bulgur, roasted veggies and a delicious salad. Happy belly <3

2) Be smart at the continental breakfast bar. Your best bets for hotel breakfast food:
-  Scrambled eggs.. if they look alright. Stick with small portions since they are probably greasy.
- Boxed cereal. My hotel has GoLean Crunch – not bad!
- Oatmeal (instant w/ hot water or cooked) with honey or Splenda, fresh fruit, and peanut butter
- Yogurt w/ cereal or oats
- Whole wheat toast (if you are so lucky – I am not :( ) topped with peanut butter or eggs

3) When you’re out to eat, try to stick with salads, broth-based soups and not-so-cheesy vegetarian options. This is what I’ve struggled with the most – we eat a lot of Mexican, BBQ and greasy fast food places for lunch… going with whatever has the most veggies is often the best bet I have. Make *great* choices when they present themselves (like Whole Foods! Or the opportunity to get a great salad from Panera) and do your best the rest of the time. For example… we ate at the Rendezvous in downtown Memphis tonight. The doorway is literally in an alley:

And they have the most famous BBQ in Memphis (or so they claim). I don’t do the beef or pork anymore, but when in Rome… so I enjoyed a chicken breast with the house barbecue sauce and baked beans. Not a veggie to be seen on the table… but it was the best option available, and I will make up for it with a healthy choice at lunch tomorrow :)

4) Save alcohol calories for the weekend. Womp wompppp…. this might make me a less fun coworker, but I generally stick with one glass of red wine or skip booze altogether when given the opportunity during travel. I’d rather have a cocktail with my boyf when I get home at the end of the week, and often I haven’t worked out yet and prefer to be sober when trying to do plyometrics and kickbox/dancing (Turbo) in a tiny hotel room!

5) Pack your favorite workout DVDs, a resistance band, at least one set of workout clothes and a pair of shoes. It’s kind gross, but I’ve been rolling with just a bra and a pair of shorts to Turbo in my room for the week. It saves space, and I can fit the shorts, top and a few pairs of socks stuffed inside of my shoes. Often, your hotel will have a fitness center, so check that out online ahead of time and plan your workouts accordingly. Depending on the area, a run outside is always an option, too. 

Plan what time you are going to fit your workouts in – Chalene herself says, “You’ve got to schedule your workouts. And you have to make them as non-negotiable as anything else that’s important to you.” And know yourself. I have a really hard time waking up in the morning when there’s not a hard-set time I need to be somewhere, so a lot of my workouts have been at night lately. Plan your exercise for when you will have the most energy… and do it in the morning if you are a better morning person than me. It will set the tone for a healthier day, all day long.

6) Get back on track during the weekend. This has been hard for me, because I am tired and feel like I deserve to do whatever I want when I get home at the end of the week. I have to remind myself that I really don’t know 100% of what goes into the restaurant food that I’m eating for two or three of my meals every day, and the weekend is my chance to fuel my body right and give my best energy to my workouts. Visualizing your goals and breaking out the things that are best dedicated to the weekend (an extra relaxing yoga session, a super challenging cardio workout, an involved healthy meal, an extra time-consuming fitness class, etc.) is helpful.

7) Get enough sleep. Seriously. There is no way to function at work when you are tired on top of being away from your comfy home. This is why I’m not working out today – sometimes getting to bed at a reasonable hour is just more important (and I’ll make it up tomorrow or on the weekend anyway!). During the week, 6 hours minimum is my goal – and that’s really not enough. Aim for 6 hours, probably more, and make it a priority.

Anything I missed? What are your top tips for maintaining health and normalcy on the road?

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